Explainer: Why India laid emphasis on DPI repository during G20 presidency

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the digital public infrastructure (DPI) of 16 countries has been incorporated in a global depository proposed by India during its G20 Presidency. What is DPI and why is India promoting it? ETV Bharat’s Aroonim Bhuyan writes.

New Delhi: While addressing the Virtual G20 Leaders’ Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the digital public infrastructure (DPI) of 16 countries has been incorporated in the Global DPI Repository (GDPIR) that India had proposed during the G20 Summit held in New Delhi in September this year. “At the New Delhi Summit, a decision was made to establish a Digital Public Infrastructure Repository, and I am pleased to announce its completion,” Modi said while speaking at the virtual summit on Wednesday. “Over 50 DPIs from 16 countries have been incorporated into this repository.”

So, what is DPI?

Digital public infrastructure encompasses foundational elements or frameworks like digital identification, payment infrastructure, and data exchange solutions. These components play a crucial role in facilitating countries to provide vital services to their citizens, fostering empowerment, and enhancing lives through the promotion of digital inclusion.

Public infrastructure has been a cornerstone of human progress. From the transcontinental railways of the 19th century to telecommunication in the 20th century, infrastructure has been vital to facilitating the flow of people, money and information. Built on top of public infrastructure, democratic countries with largely free markets have fostered public and private innovation and, therefore, generated considerable value creation in societies. The DPI has emerged as the most feasible model due to its low cost, interoperability and scalable design, and because of its safeguards against monopolies and digital colonisation.

What is the Global DPI Repository (GDPIR)?

The GDPIR is a virtual repository of DPIs that will be shared by G20 member nations. According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the GDPIR is a comprehensive resource hub, pooling essential lessons and expertise from G20 members and guest nations.

“Its primary aim is to bridge the knowledge gap in the choices and methodologies required for the design, construction, deployment, and governance of DPIs,” the Ministry said in a statement. “The GDPIR showcases the information in a standardised format from countries and organisations that have developed DPIs at scale, incorporating elements such as maturity scales, source codes (where available), and governance frameworks. Currently, the GDPIR features 54 DPIs from 16 countries.”

Why did India propose the DPI repository?

India has made a lot of advances in the last five years in terms of digital economy and cybersecurity, particularly in using mobile phones, UIDAI and Jandhan accounts that helped people get access to government financial services like banking.

While addressing the G20 Digital Economy Ministers’ Meet in Bengaluru in August this year, Modi said that India’s digital public infrastructure offers scalable, secure and inclusive solutions for global challenges.

“India's digital transformation over the last nine years is unprecedented,” Modi said. “It all started with the launch of our Digital India initiative in 2015. It is powered by our unshakeable belief in innovation.”

He said that India has over 850 million internet users, enjoying some of the cheapest data costs in the world.

An Outcome Document released following the G20 Digital Economy Ministers’ Meet acknowledged that digital divides, including the gender digital divide, are a considerable challenge for all countries, especially in developing and least-developed countries.

“Noting our deliberations to bridge the digital divides undertaken during the previous G20 presidencies, we reaffirm the urgency to accelerate inclusive digital transformation for all, especially for underserved groups and people in vulnerable situations,” the Document stated.

Which are the 16 countries whose DPIs have been incorporated in the GDPIR so far?

The DPIs of the European Union (EU) and 15 other countries, including India, have been incorporated in the GDPIR so far. While one DPI has been incorporated from Argentina, two have been incorporated from Australia, six from Bangladesh, three from Brazil, two from the EU, five from France, one from Germany, 12 from India, two from Italy, four from Japan, one from Mauritius, one from Nigeria, nine from Oman, two from Russia, two from Singapore and one from South Korea.

What are the DPIs from India that have been incorporated in the GDPIR?

The following are the 12 DPIs of India that have been incorporated in the GDPIR:

Aaadhaar:It is the world's largest digital identity programme. Aadhaar provides a presence-less foundational identity layer to India Stack, a project of creating a unified software platform to bring India’s population into the digital age. On top of this, various layers and user-cases get built.

UPI:The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is India’s leading digital payment platform. UPI is an open and interoperable digital payment platform that integrates multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application. It provides a cashless layer to India Stack.

DigiLocker:It is a leading paperless initiative that provides a private locker to every citizen in the Government of India’s cloud. DigiLocker is a platform for the issuance and verification of documents and certificates digitally.

Umang:It is a single platform for all Indian citizens to access pan India e-Gov services ranging from central to local government bodies. Umang services are available in multiple Indian regional languages.

eSanjeevani:It is a Cloud-based real-time population-scale telemedicine platform. eSanjeevani enables video and audio doctor-patient consultations.

API Setu:It is a platform to enable swift, transparent, safe, and reliable information sharing across applications and to promote innovation by linking systems and data. It promotes a data and API (application programme interface) driven culture.

Co-WIN:It is India’s leading vaccination platform. Co-WIN is a transparent system that allows tracking of each dose of vaccine supplied to vaccination facilities and records the fulfilment of demand at a granular level.

GeM:Government e-marketplace for public procurement of common-use goods and services. It is an end-to-end automated solution for government buying, right from order to fulfilment.

Diksha:It is the world’s largest, most diverse school education platform.

Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing (Diksha) offers engaging learning material, relevant to the prescribed school curriculum, to teachers, students, and parents.

E-Hospital:It is a one-stop solution that connects patients, hospitals, and doctors on a single digital platform. It is based on global healthcare standards like HL7, SNOMED-CT, ICD10 and LOINC, and Metta and Data Standards (MDDS) published by the Government of India.

Poshan Tracker:It is an important tool for women and child development and last-mile delivery of nutritional services. Poshan Tracker provides real-time last-milling and tracking of beneficiaries and duty bearers. It is linked with education and health programmes for proactive service delivery.

ABDM:ABDM: The Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) aims to develop the backbone necessary to support the integrated digital health infrastructure of the country. It will bridge the existing gap among different stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem through digital highways.